My students need The Diary of Anne Frank workshop to help explore themes in history through theatrical representation while looking towards the future to show bravery, resilience, and change.
The students in my classroom this year are curious and inquisitive; they are interested in learning new things and being met with a challenge. They want to find the answers to their questions and be free to explore their new concepts and ideas. They come from a variety of neighborhoods and families in our area just south of SeaTac airport. They come to school each morning with a smile on their faces and sit in their seats ready to go. Their energy is infectious; when you walk into my classroom you can sense the desire and urgency for new learning.
These kids are passionate, not just about themselves but the world we live in.
I have actors, book lovers, athletes, musicians, and code-writers in my classroom. They consistently pose a challenge to me to help meet the needs of all of my learners while teaching a single lesson. Luckily, they love getting to work with me and each other to help each other rise!
My Project
The Seattle Children's Theatre [SCT] teaching artist will bring deeper meaning and engagement to the play our classes see, The Diary of Anne Frank. During the 2018-2019 school year both the 5th and 6th grade classes will go to the SCT's performance of The Diary of Anne Frank. With the help of the teaching artist, our students will be able to explore the historical issues, themes, and production elements in the comfort of their own classroom. Inevitably this visitor will help our 5th an 6th graders discuss, act out, and perform their own interpretations of what we could learn from the holocaust and history itself.
Through this workshop, students will "get on their feet, stretching their imaginations while deepening their knowledge about the show." (SCT, 2018).
It's hard to fathom the idea of what happened during Anne Frank's life but theatre allows us to delicately approach and analyze these issues together. My hope is that the SCT teaching artist helps my students develop an interest in performance art as well as be inspired by Anne Frank. This experience will focus Anne's message to us, "how wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Fleming and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
